Stanley Cup Finals Recap Game 1

Game 1 is already in the books and hockey fans still can't believe it's the New Jersey Devils vs the  Los Angeles Kings. To be quite honest, the first two periods of game 1 were rather dull. We had Dustin Brown running into Martin Brodeur for an interference penalty and a cheap LA goal by Colin Fraser. In the second period, there was an Anton Volchenkov goal that either deflected off his head or off of King's defenseman Slava Voynov's chest. Finally, in the third period we got what we wanted. Late in the third period, Martin Brodeur's pad stack save reenergized the Devil crowd, as well as a majority of it's television audience. The rest of the third period was exciting and eventually landed the two teams into overtime tied at 1-1.

Just when we thought nothing could get by 40-year-old Brodeur in the first overtime, at the 8:13 mark the New Jersey defenseman got sucked up to far and that left a breakaway for Anze Kopitar. Brodeur never even had a chance on the Kopitar shot. Before we knew it, Kopitar had won game 1 for the Kings. Good for Los Angeles's 9th straight win on the road in the playoffs. This LA team just finds ways to win games and there were only 17 shots total on King's goaltender Jonathan Quick. Quick, of course, came up with the big saves when his team needed him most. As much as people didn't necessarily want this New Jersey-LA match-up, these teams are very even. Both teams exemplify great goaltending and have a lot of players who are great defensively and can put the puck in the net. This is shaping up to be a great series. It might not be as exciting as last year's Bruins and Canucks fight night, but these teams have proven why they belong here. Game 2 is on Saturday night in New Jersey.